Disseminating Evidence-Based Preventive Interventions to Promote Wellness and Mental Health in Children and Youth: Opportunities, Gaps, and Challenges

Abstract

Post pandemic increases in mental illness and waitlists for mental health services highlight the urgent need to prevent and mitigate mental health problems in children and youth living in Canada. We describe current dissemination and implementation strategies of evidence-based preventive interventions (EBPIs) for children and youth in Canada that are designed to improve health and well-being. Based on written case studies from 18 Canadian researchers and stakeholders, we examined their approaches to development, dissemination, and implementation of EBPIs. We also summarized the opportunities and challenges faced by these researchers, particularly in sustaining the dissemination and implementing of their evidence-based programs over time. Typically, researchers take responsibility for program dissemination, and they have created a variety of approaches to overcoming costs and challenges. However, despite the availability of many strong, developmentally appropriate EBPIs to support child and youth mental health and well-being, systemic gaps between their development and implementation impede equitable access to and sustainability of these resources.